Surgical procedures often involve the use of various mechanical devices that assist the surgeon in performing various tasks during the surgical procedure. Many of these surgical devices are multi-part devices that require connection (or disconnection) during the procedure. It is desirable to make the connection or disconnection of these devices as easy as possible to assist the surgeon during the surgical procedure. Of course, during surgical procedures the surgical devices are often surrounded by patient tissue or other surgical devices, leaving limited options for connection and disconnection arrangements.
One example of a multi-part surgical device is the keel punch used during orthopedic knee surgery. In general, the keel punch includes an impactor that is connected to a broach prior to or during surgical procedure. During a total knee replacement procedure, the impactor of the keel punch is used to drive the broach into the patient's tibia. The impactor must then be removed from the broach, leaving the broach embedded in the tibia.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide an orthopedic surgical device that facilitates quick and easy connection or disconnection between two components of the surgical device. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide a keel punch impactor with a handle that could be quickly and easily attached to and/or removed from the broach of the impactor during the surgical procedure. It would also be advantageous if the handle could be easily connected to the broach with minimal interference from patient tissue and/or other surgical devices during the surgical procedure.